Google hates code

[thebestsean]

A while ago I had a search term that was getting thousands of hits from google that dropped into just a few hits a month. I changed one thing, made the page that was being linked from google in tables to make it attactive. I haven't thought much about it untill I started reading about search engine algorithms. I am not sure if this has been well documented, but I have only read that you shouldn't have a lot of code compared to content. In this case it dramstically effected my placement for the keyword, dropping me from page 2 to around page 7.

Just thought I would make a post to help anyone with SEO.

 

[liam_d]

So then tables = bad, css = good?

 

[peter phillips]

:imho: Search engines prefer CSS-based sites and are likely to score them higher in the search rankings mainly because

1. The code is cleaner and therefore more accessible to search engines
2. Important content can be placed at the top of the HTML document
3. There is a greater density of content compared to coding

Using CSS for layout is also highly advantageous for usability, as it leads to significantly faster download times.

 

[allabout42]

Thanks for your insight peter phillips!

 

[Spider Ninja]

right...if you want to use tables, make sure you get your important keywords as close to the top of the html as possible

 

[liam_d]

using keywords in and descriptions in the head comes in usefull if your using tables

 

[Genialnames]

thanks!